The Surface Mini Is Very Real, This Report Says So

One member of the Surface family is a certified enigma. In news since the very debut of the tablet lineup, the Surface Mini was on track for launch earlier this summer.

That is, before Microsoft pulled the plug, and instead only released the Surface Pro 3.

Following that move, though, a number of reports have surfaced (bad pun, I know) talking about how Redmond had built at least 20,000 of these smaller tablets, and how the launch was cancelled in the eleventh hour.

Well, you can add another one to the list.

This report reveals that although Microsoft prohibited photographing the device, it came with a somewhat modest set of hardware circuitry — think a Qualcomm processor with 1GB of RAM, running Windows RT 8.1.

Screen size? The usual 8-inch, as was widely rumored.

As for the physical appearance, it is being said that the device looked a ditto copy of a Surface Pro 3, though in a smaller form factor. Which is to say that the Surface Mini might not have come with the standard widescreen 16:9 display that is common on most tablets these days.

It did come with a pen very much similar to the one that sits alongside the Surface Pro 3. Meaning Microsoft had envisioned this as a companion product to its newest slate.

Only using an ARM architecture, affordable, and in a small size.

Still, as things stands there is a very slim (to none) chance of the Surface Mini making its debut with the abovementioned hardware. Microsoft cancelled the launch for a reason, after all.

But this also hints that the petite tablet will make a comeback in one form or another.